Man this country can be EXHAUSTING at times. The University is an absolute nut-house right now, I have absolutely no idea what courses I'm going to take (and technically the semester has already started....although not really...), and it's taken me since last Wednesday when I got back to Dar to find the time to update this here blog...........I actually wanted to do it last Friday but was abruptly denied when the power went out.......AGAIN (that along with the water being randomly shut off is a regularly occuring thing here), and this time taking with it half of an already long email to Megan and part of a post. Shitty. Today was a weird day; after getting back my less than desirable test grade in Kiswahili, waiting in line for an hour and a half at the ATM, enjoying some quality diarhea after lunch, getting my water bottle stolen by some primary school kids I was playing soccer with, finding out my residency permit didn't clear and needs to be resubmitted, and being told that I was going to need to move out of my room that I have been comfortably settling into for the past 3 1/2 weeks into one without working outlets, the water shut-off in the middle of my attempts at handwashing my laundry that I had still not started since coming back from vacation last Wednesday.......needless to say most of my clothes are still sitting in buckets of soapy water just chillin until I can rinse them out. So yeah, you could say I'm a little frustrated, and I think it's a combination of two things. First being my initial frustration with the way things tend to work around here. As an American I've developed and grown used to a certain standard of living (that is not neccesarily better or worse than the way things work here, just different) that has allowed me to enjoy the finer luxuries of fast and reliable internet, hot water, working toilets with seats, and internet based registration for all of my life........among other things......all things in reality that I have signifficantly taken for granted until now. Secondly, I'm becoming increasingly frustrated with these initial frustrations and my current inability to adapt to these minor misfortunes; I wish I could just roll with the punches and laugh like I usually do, but for some reason it's all starting to get to me now that I've been here for just over a month. I'm not quite sure if you could call it homesickness either; in fact I think a better way to describe it might be to call it a familiarity sickness. I think what I'm starting to miss most about "home", more so than the physical place in general, is all the wonderful people and familiarity associated with home. Tanzania is an AMAZING place, one that has already offered tons of exciting insights, experiences, and and challenges, but what Tanzania lacks, and what I'm discovering was much more important to me than I originally could have imagined, is the comfort and familiarity of home and all of YOU reading this blog who matter the most and count for a big part of what home really means to me. Tanzania is SO different, and while that can be absolutely invigorating at times it can also become exhausting. Craming the highest of highs and the lowest of lows into one day can be, although exciting, somewhat overwhelming to say the least. Furthermore, life for the average Tanzanian in general is definitely very different than what we as priveledged Americans experience on a daily basis, and consequently, life for the average American is, by comparison, entirely too easy. I think you could say that I'm learning that the hard way here in Tanzania, and while I'm still very excited about this experience and can't begin to describe to you how valuable and enlightening this all is, I'm struggling. Struggling to pinpoint exactly what it is about this country and my attitude right now that bothers me the most, while continually striving to find a middle ground, enjoy these experiences for what they are, and understand a little bit more about not only myself, but this unique and special developing city and nation as a whole. Don't get me wrong though, I wouldn't trade these frustrations for the world and consider myself insanely lucky to have experienced so many incredible things (good and bad) in my short time here thus far...........I just kinda feel like a warm shower and a cheese burger right now. And I'd like to think that it's normal and even okay for me to be feeling these things, it's just a little bit out of the ordinary for me and is something that, more than anything, I'm not tremendously excited or proud about admitting. But hakuna matata; I'm sure this funk will pass and it's always more fun to focus on the brighter side of Tanzanian life........like vacations in the mountains and on the beach! To sum up the end of my vacation time in Lushoto, I think it'd be best to describe it as being one of the best trips of my life and one that was filled with some of the most memorable and incredible experiences a guy could ask for. I originally thought it would be impossible to top our experiences in Tanga and Pangani, but to my surprise and extremely good fortune, hiking in the Usumbaras was absolutely breathtaking to say the least (and in more ways than one). On Saturday (the 19th) we, along with our crazy but fun guide Omari, hiked up to the world famous Irente View Point. A fairly simple hike scattered with the occasional village, chamelion, and/or banana tree that leads you to a spectacular outcropped view of practically all of western Tanz. with what was probably a 1000+ ft. drop off..........pretty stellar. The 2 hour trek back to Lushoto took us through a local dairy farm (complete with gourmet cheeze, rye bread, veggies, mango, passion fruit nectar-juice, and peach jam for lunch), one of Tanz.'s three special Primary Schools for the blind, marijuana plants, Rainbow Connections Primary School for the Mentally Challenged (and yes, Kermit was there playing his banjo for the kids), and a shortcut through the District Comissioners mansion. Hard to top even that, I know, but believe me.........we did it. After getting up on Sunday morning and perusing the hectically buzzing Lushoto market, we took off (again with guide Omari) North fora 2 day hike that would eventually bring us to Mtai, an even smaller Usumbara Mountain-town at the very northern edge of this spectacular mountain range. There's no way to adequately describe via blog what we experienced over the course of these two very tiring, yet very amazing days, but I'll do my best to hit on the good parts. For starters, what I thought was one of the coolest parts about this unique trip was all of the regions we eventually passed through in order to make it all the way to Mtai (a total one way hike of approximately 40 km........2.2 km is 1 mile, fyi...). We started out in lushly rugged Lushoto, passed through a freakin rain forrest (like, Tarzan meets Jane having crazy jungle monkey sex, rain forrest), skirted over the top of Tanzania's fourth largest peak, baked in the almost desert-dry conditions near the village of Sungara (where, to our surprise, Omari was born.......he cooked lunch for us at his aunt's house and we got to hang out with all his little cousins and their village friends.....sweet!), found our way into the middle of a HUGE pine tree farm dotted with euclyptus (which in some parts looked freakishly like Colorado.....minus the euclyptus), and ended up in the quiet little village of Mtai overlooking the Masai Step where we watched the most amazing sun-set I've ever seen. All in all two of the most incredible days of my life. And the stars in Mtai......AMAIZING! I've never seen that many stars, not even in Colorado. It honestly felt like I was inside a planatarium. But yeah, we left Mtai at 4am and took a bus all the way back to Lushoto, then got on another bus headed for Dar (which took 7 hours but felt like 14) and have been here since, continuously enjoying the finer sides of Tanzanian life. Sidenote: some dudes next to me are looking at porn........kinda weird. Not use to seeing that in a public setting, but whatever works I guess. Oh wait, I forgot to mention. I went to this swanky little beach resort this past weekend called Kipepeo (which means butterfly in Kiswahili). Kinda touristy and a little overloaded with the pasty-white wazungu traffic, but a nice place nontheless offering insanely cheep beach bandas for an excellent over-night stay at a beach that honestly looks like it's straight out of a Corona commercial. Good stuff. One thing to be happy about for sure, I think I could definitely get used to beach life.........although sandy butt cracks tend to get annoying. But alas, it's nearing bed time (kinda lame that I go to bed around 9:30-10 here.......then again, I wake up every morning at 6:45 when the Mosque next door begins it's morning prayers) and I'm guessing you've all had enough of this sporatically subjected blog. Toodles for now.......keep sending the great comments, it always makes my day. Much love to all...

No worries folks, despite common misconseption I am alive and am currently doing very well here in Lushoto. Let me first apologize for my un-timely update; this is the first internet cafe I've found since my journies commensed just over a week ago (and I have honestly not held it too high on my list of priorities as this is my vactation.....although, mother, I'm sorry there was a miscomunication and am sorry that either I forgot to tell you or you forgot to remember that I wasn't dead I was just vacationing all over the northern coast of Tanzania.....i love you). Anywho, I had planned to let you all know via post last Friday before I left what my plans were and that there was a good chance that I might not be able to update until I returned to Dar, which I will be doing this upcoming Wednesday, but was sourly denied when the power went out at the Univ. and left me with the poor excuse of a post that you saw and no other option to reconcile my misfortune. To clarify, two of my good friends from the program, Kristin and Becky, and I decided to use our alloted two-week vacation time to check out Tanga, Pangani, and Lushoto, all of which are North of Dar and two of which are on the coast. As of now we have already sufficiently exhausted Tanga and Pangani, and are now on the last leg of our journey here in Lushoto, a quiet little mountain village tucked away in the Usumbara Mountain Range. Despite only being there for two days, Tanga was amazing and left a great taste in our mouths, what with our breathtaking bike ride to and tour of the Amboni Caves just 15 miles outside of Tanga and the best Indian food I've ever had in my life....and the spiciest.....boy was it a kick in the pants (sidenote: not only was our guide, Kassim, one of the nicest people I've met since I got here......which was one month ago today by the way, happy anniversary to me!......he's also an official member of the International Spelunking Association and was actually the first person ever to discover one of the caves that he walked (and crawled/climbed/jimmied) us around......amazing......spelunking is a fun word.) Pangani was nice and offered us a couple wonderful days at this pristine and deserted little beach, dotted with thousands of kick-ass seashells and palm trees (actually reminded me a lot of LOST...), but also treated us to a bought of sea-sickness aboard this motorized canoe on steroids (technically a motorized dhow) that was suppose to take us to this little island popular for prime snorkling and dolphin spotting in less than an hour, which in reality took nearly two and brought us to a mole hill that dissapears at high tide and offers about as much good snorkling and dolphin spotting as my back yard. But hakuna matata, it was an interesting experience nontheless and convinced me that any sortof career that may involve water is definitely not for me. Anyway, now we're in Lushoto and are geered up to do some sweet hiking all over these beautiful mountains with our new friend, Omari, who works for the same company as Kassim and has sufficiently hooked us up on a killer deal....2 days and 3 nights of backpacking all over the northern region of the Usumbaras for $50 a person, which includes three meals a day and lodging/camping, plus administration, park and guide fees. But yeah, I'm alive and am definitely enjoying some quality relaxation time. Unfortunately, due to the poor performance of this computer thus far and the expensive rate of this shitty cafe, I am affraid I must cut this post somewhat short. I promise that once I get back to Dar I will try and find the time to clear up any confusion about my travles, and apologoize for having to be so brief. Just wanted to take a moment to assure you all that I am safe, in good health (no malaria yet), and will be back at "home" shortly. Best wishes and safe travels to my main man Johnie Meyer as he gets set to embark on his own journies to Switzerland and beyond....good luck buddy! In other news, I've decided that after college I am moving to Finland. They've got things figured out, it's the smartest nation in the world, is home to a lovely and very attractive couple I met last night at our hotel, and has a women President who looks like Conan O'Brian. Sweet. Until next time....... p.s. please forget any negative comments I may have made about this lovely little cafe and its pleasent owner. I have just found out that my time spent here is free due to the fact that I am a friend of Omari's. Uhh gurl! Ok peace.

Leo ni tarehe kumi na moja MWEZI WA agosti, elfu mbili na sita (today is the 11th of August, 2006....if you'll recall, I attempted to say this properly in my last post but unfortunately failed. I used "miezi cha" instead of "mwezi wa" which is the difference between "months of" (not the correct 'of' though either) and "month of".......so yeah, sorry about that.

Hire some dancing girls and crack open the champaigne, it's Nane-Nane folks! (the word "nane" means "eight" in kiswahili. Meaning that today, a Tanzanian national holiday, is "Eight-Eight Day"............if you still haven't caught on, it's the eighth day of the eighth month, so celebrate.) Known in kiswahili as trarehe nane miezi cha agosti, elfu mbili na sita (the 9th day of August, 2006), or Nane-Nane, today is an officially official National holiday. Which in English means no school.....or anything work related for that matter. I'd love to go into detail as to what the significance of this holiday actually is, but all that I know is that it has something to do with farming and that our kiswahili teacher felt that it was important for us to sleep in instead of coming to her class. I think it may be an un-official excuse for farmers to compete against one another in hopes of declaring whose got the most bad-ass crops, but that's all I got. So, if you're truly interested I'm sure you could find some good stuff about it at Tanzania's homepage (I think websites for countries are funny.....check out the US's, it's a pretty good laugh). It's the link to the right that says "Tanzania.gov".......in other news, I think it's safe to say that I'm the best clothes-hand-washer ever. In fact, if I had figured this out earlier in life I probably wouldn't have gone to college. I'd say that my hands were made for hand-washing, but I think it'd be safer to say that hand-washing was made for my hands. My mother (and Megan) would be so proud at my incomprehensible and incomparable ability to remove blue pen-ink from tan shorts in a matter of minutes without even breaking a sweat. Then again, I practically re-invented the art form just yesterday afternoon, so why should anyone be surprised? However, please no one get it in your head that my skills might possibly be of your disposal upon my return; neither your clothes nor your naivity can handle the magnitude of my talent, and after 5 months of training has brought me to the maximum level of attainment in this art form, I will have nothing left to prove. I, like the rest of your kind, will retire to the mediocrity of spin cycling away my filth for the sake of modesty and conformity. In all seriousness though, hand-washing one's clothes is hard work. And, though I may be exceptionally good at it (not really, although kindof.....at least I was proud of myself. Plus, I really did get blue pen-ink out of my tan shorts. sweet!), I will be the first to admit how much I took for granted the luxury of having your own audomated-spin-cycling washer and dryer at your disposal (not to mention having somebody else do it for you for most of 20 years.....man I'm pathetic). Although, to be honest, air drying your clothes on a clothes-line makes your clothes smell SO good (at least in Tanzania) despite how long it takes. If I can self-reflect for a second though, I think that one thing I've realized about myself in being here thus far, is that while I am much stronger, much more resiliant, and much more resourceful than I would have ever given myself credit for, I have also been more priveledged, more pampered, more selfish, and more dependent in my life than I would like to admit. While I never made or forced anyone to do things for me like wash my clothes, I also never stopped them and consciously decided to do it for myself, nor did I manage to do anything for them of the same magnitude and at time am affraid that I failed to show my sincerest appreciation. And though I did do things for myself from time to time, my dependence (and/or "mooching" as my Dad would prefer to call it) aired on the side of pathetic. This reflection goes beyond the simplicities of my laundry, but something as simple Tide-ing the hell out of my underwear for most of my life deserves at least a second of recognition. In doing so, let me also make clear the utmost sincerity of my appreciation for those (and you know who you are) who have not only wiped my ass and washed my trousers (in no particular order) but have touched and shaped my life in countless ways. So much so, that I am absolutely certain (which is considerably much more certain then practically everything else that's been going on my head since I stepped foot in this beautiful, yet crazy country) that had it not been for you I would NOT be doing as well 12,000 miles away from my home as I am doing right now. I guess I really don't know what else to say other than 'thank you', and yet I fear that it may fall short of what you deserve. While we're on the topic of self reflection however, let me just say that I also greatly appreciate and tremendously miss all my American-male friends/lovers. All of you have no idea how much you mean to me, and I consider myself insanely lucky to have so many amazingly talented, humble, intelligent, funny, passionate, sensitive, attractive, and down right kick-ass guy friends back home (ladies, I love you too but it's not your turn). And why the emphasis on males you ask? Don't get me wrong, I miss Megan like you wouldn't believe (as well as all my other girl friends back home), but being the only guy in a group of 9 independently-strong-willed and insanely opinionated women has taught me a lot about myself as a heterosexual male. These women are very bright, very gifted, and have so much to offer, but sometimes I'd like nothing better than to start a He-Man Women Haters Club of my own (although membership would be somewhat small at this point....American women students at the Univ. this fall out-number the men 42 to 9). I think in a really good way being around this many women has sensitized me to many issues women everywhere suffer with everday, and has definitely opened my eyes to certain things I absentmindedly do on a regular basis that may be insensitive and/or unhelpful to women and all feminists. Yet, for anyone who might argue that men and women aren't that different and that our most basic differences are merely socialized, you're crazy. And to be honest, while the differences are fascinatingly wonderful and very interesting to witness and comprehend, they are equally as stressful and frustrating when delivered in large doses. This is by no means a rant against women. I love women, I'm dating a wonderful women, and above all I truly respect and appreciate women everywhere, I just love being a man and would like all my fellow man-friends to know that I miss you, thank you, and love you for being men and for allowing me to do things with you that I otherwise could not do or might get in trouble for doing in mixed-company. And at the same time, know also that being a "good man" is hard and "good men" are often hard to come by, regardless of where you are in the world. Sexism, like racsism, is still a reality and is still something that needs to be destroyed (sometimes more so in America than anywhere else, despite what we might think), but at the same time I for one can say that I love having a penis, while still recognizing my priviledges in having one (which are often unfair), and miss the hell out quality male companionship/homoerotic male bonding (haha, don't take that too literally mom and dad). Anywho, school starts soon and aside from not having to share a bathroom with girls anymore once that happens, I'm sure I'll have a gang load of new Tanzanian and other International male friends to keep me satisfied (no one could ever replace you guys, don't worry). As for now, its getting to be supper time so I should seriously think about sufficiently stuffing myself with wali. Sidenote: I saw the biggest catipillar I've ever seen today, as well as the creepiest spider in probably all of Tanzania. So long for now friends. Salama. p.s. I decided that in talking to natives and writing in my blog I can at times be rather hard on America. As a balance to my actions I will end this post with a few things that I've discovered I absolutely love about America since leaving it.......Guster, black bean burgers smothered in pepper-jack cheeze and guacamole, having dogs as pets instead of abusing them as security systems, LUFDA, corn on the cob, Martin Luther King Jr., Megan, ESPN, and fruit snacks. more later...

Okay, it's official. My ocean swimming cherry has definitely been popped. And how weird that as an American my first taste of ocean water was in the Indian Ocean?..............which was really warm by the way.........I mean not like pee warm, but pretty warm. I wouldn't know from experience, but I've heard that the Pacific is a tid bit niply (maybe we should ask Nathan? hehe). But anywho, after our trip to Bagamoyo yesterday (which is roughly an hour north of Dar), I can now safely say that I have both swam in an ocean AND eaten Tanzanian pizza.......not at the same time though........posssibly something to pursue before the semester is up however. Due to the fact that coastal Tanzania (and Eastern Africa in general) has such a rich Arabic influence and history, the purpose of our safari was to check out some ancient Arabic ruins (over 600 years old) at these Nationally protected sights in Bagamoyo, some of the oldest left in Africa. For example, we saw the remains and existing structure of a 12th Century Mosque and adjacent burial grounds. Short history lesson: Zanzibar was and is still the largest cloves exporter in the world. As a result of all of these cloves needing to be harvested and sold, the Arabians, who had settled in large numbers on Zanzibar and coast towns like Bagamoyo after having wiped out the Portuguese, decided it was a "good idea" to get themselves some slaves. Slave traders would trek their way inland, find themselves a nice village to ransack, and would then force their now endentured servents to help them in slaughtering a couple elephants. After the hunt, they would then shackle and chain the men together while having them carry the elephant tusks (the carcas would probably be left unused in the jungle because of its weight......or maybe they'd just make the Africans carry the carcas?) and would march them hundreds of miles back to the coast. Many would become sick, more would die, but the ones who survived were obviously the strongest and would sell for the most money. But yeah, these Arabian traders (and later on German colonists) did pretty well, considering that in one big swoop they were able to sell ivory and slaves without any cost, other than time, to themselves. Towns like Bagamoyo and Dar grew fairly rapidly and were later popular areas for German and British occupancy. Another historically cool thing about Bagamoyo, Dr. David Livingston, the famous English missionary who devoted his life to anti-slavery campaigns all over Eastern Africa, was brought to Bagamoyo after he died during his last excursion so that his body could be viewed for 24 hours by the people who he was supposedly helping before it was taken back to England. Bagamoyo also has a Fine Arts Institution where Tanzania's most talented professional performers hone and perfect their skills. We didn't get a chance to visit or see it, but I think you can take a week long lesson/class in practically any area of fine arts for like $75, and Thomas has said that it's only a 1000 shilingi to take the Dala Dala from Dar to Bagamoyo. Anyway, aside from the historical stuff we also had a chance to go to this cool little beach, which became really full of primary and secondary school students once school was out for the day. We ate pizza (which I was double fisting at one point) for dinner and then came back to the dorms for a quiet rest of the night.................we were suppose to go dancing at this local club that had a live band last night, but things didn't work out and our evening escort, Thomas, had to pick up some more International students from the airport...........which also means I no longer have a room to myself. My new roommate's name is Nate/Nathan and he's from a small Christian college in San Diego. He's no John, but he seems pretty cool. He'll only be my roommate for a couple more weeks though, and then we'll both be getting Tanzanian roommates at the start of school. As for today, after sleeping in until 9:30 and having myself some ndizati (chapati and ndizi), I opted for a 1500 shilingi swim in the campus pool since the water wasn't running in our dorm. I had the whole pool to myself and imagine I'll be frequenting this secret wonder for all my hygiene needs throughout the semester. It was nice to just wade bymyself for awhile, but I felt slightly lame. I wonder if I can buy some goggles somewhere, then I could play all sorts of fun water games with myself! And since I have a stop watch on my cell phone, maybe I'll even do some time trials (I will beat you someday Lucas...). Anywho, I'm currently feeling slightly uncreative and am thinking I'll bring this post to a close. Let me apologize for this being the lamest post I've published thus far; I only hope you can trust me when I say that the next one will be...let's say, fantabulastically fresh. So yeah, sorry for that, but I'm sure that we'll talking real soon....until then....salama.

Well folks, it's been awhile since we talked last and boy do I have a lot to tell you. I should start by saying that I am no longer in Arusha, but am now settled into my permenant home here at the University in Dar. We got here on Sunday night around 6:30 after a crazy-ass bus ride that took us accross most of Tanz. in 7 hours. The views were absolutely spectacular, and it was really cool to watch the landscape change as we headed farther south and consequently closer to the equator and ocean. After we arrived and got semi-situated in our rooms, we had dinner at this really nice Malaysian Restaurant downtown (don't worry, Barbara and Terry paid) and I absolutely fell in love with Indian buffet night......there's a good chance I just might go back next Sunday! Thomas and Mama Mabel Kaaya, our Univ. facilitators, are very nice, very reliable, and very helpful. That's especially nice to know considering that we'll be heavily relying on their assistence and guidance for the next couple months. Furthermore, they know practically everything there is to know about the Univ., Dar, Zanzibar, and basically Tanzania in general, so it's very comforting to know that they're on our side.........so don't worry mom, I'm in good hands! But anyway, it has been kinda nuts since we arrived and I havn't really had a whole lot of time to devote to blogging (and the computer's here are worse than the ones in Arusha, haha), so please accept my apologies for the untimely nature of this post. The good news is, we started our kiswahili lessons and I can see myself improving everyday! Our mwalimu (teacher) is a wonderfully bright and energetic women who I can tell is very interested in our success and is making our 4 hour lessons fairly enjoyable. I can't tell whether it's impressive or pathetic that I feel like I already know more Swahili than French (which I took for two, painful semesters), but I am hoping that my good fortune will continue......not without hard work though! (*insert cheezy grin and thumbs up......bomba kinyama rafiki zangu!) The campus is very rustic, brass, and jungly, yet has this urban-metropolis feel to it......very cool, very African; plus, you need not walk any farther than 300 yds. in any direction and you've got full access to clean water (in bottles..."don't drink from the tap"), cheep food, toilet paper (which i found out the hard way is NOT provided in any of the bathrooms) and cell phone cards.....all of the neccesities! If you can imagine, I can basically gorge myself on wali na mararangua nzuri sana (really good rice and beans) for less than a buck '50! Ndizi (bananas) are like 10 cents a piece, chai (tea) is like 30 cents, and chapati (fried tortilla bread stuff) is also only 10 cents (sidenote: chapati with a banana and a little sugar rolled up in it for breakfast is amazing and is so CHEAP!......i think i'll try peanut butter in there too.......man i'm gonna get fat...). I'm also in love with chili sauce......it look's like fry sauce and smells like tabasco, but it's the closest thing to heaven I've experienced and I put it all over my wali. However, it's frustrating that a country whose resources are slowly depleating and whose national economy is constantly struggling with external debt can provide basic, clean, accessible, and healthy neccesities at an amazingly affordable price while we as Americans, citizens of one of the richest nations in the world, can easily spend $10 on a hamburger and fries that we don't even finish. Ah, America... But yeah, I'm gonna be so fruggle when i get back... The toilets and showers are an interesting topic also....aside from the fact that I'm sharing this bathroom on our floor with 9 women, the place is always floding in some way, the toilets have a history of not working (which is dangerous when considering what comes out of my ass), and the showers, when they work, are way cold and smell like rusty urine......but to be honest, it's awesome. I'm surprised that I'm saying this because I'll be the first to admit that I love me a nice, long, hot shower, but it's all so exciting because I literally have no idea what to expect from one day to the next in that bathroom, and for the first time in my life I'm okay with uncertainty and change (in more ways than just dealing with the bathroom.....i feel like our bathroom is a metaphor for my life in general...). This morning when I was sitting down to "do some reading", the biggest bee I've ever seen in my life came flying out of this hole in the floor beside me. Scared the shit out of me (literally) but it was absolutely hilarious because I was hopping around with my pants around my ankles, splashing freezing cold water from my shower that had assembled in a nice puddle in front of the john, while 3 women were busy brushing their teeth outside the stall. Ah, good times......hakuna matata(it means no worries.....really). In general, I think it's safe to say that Dar kicks some serious tail; havn't seen a ton of the city, but in buying our cell phones (which I will talk more about later), registering at the Embassy, eating at this swanky Ethiopian place last night, and wandering around the campus and dorm hall, I can tell that it's gonna be way fun to explore every inch of this crazy but beautiful port city. And to be breif but frank, I absolutely love it here and am confident that it's going to be a great semester. I was slightly worried about leaving the Centre in Arusha where I was begining to feel really comfortable and at home, because I was worried that I might not like it here as much, and since Arusha was so amazing I was worried anything else just might not measure up. Fortunately though, what I have seen and experienced on the campus and in the city thus far has been awesome and I see no reason why I won't come to genuinly love this place. In other news.......................I found what I think is a Swedish coin the other day and it made me think of John. I'm not entirely positive that it's Swedish, but it has this crazy lady on the front holding a spear in one hand and a big sheild with the Swiss cross in the other. On the flip side it says 1 Fr., so maybe it's French..........it doesn't really matter either way, seeing as how we use shilingi here and the Euro has taken over everywhere else, but it's cool and it made me think of you, John. Only a few more days my friend and you'll be joining the international student community! Woohoo for study abroad! Anywho, back to Africa..............it seems weird to be talking about it now because it feels like it happened so long ago, but this past Thursday, Friday, and Saturday we made an awesome trip to the village of Maroroni, which is about 30 min. away from the Centre in Arusha. The purpose of this "shamba excursion" was to stay /camp on a traditional Tanzanian farm (they harvest maize, millet, and beans) with a Tanzanian couple whose home was to become a center for regional discussion and cross cultural exchange for 3 days between us, the Americans from various private Colleges throughout the Midwest, and several citizens of Maroroni Village and its surrounding area, including the village commissioner, the headmasters of the Primary and Secondary Schools, and the regional chairperson and representative of Tanzania's leading political party, the Chama Cha Mapinduzi. During the day on Thursday and Friday we did some service work at the Primary School, independently talked with some Secondary School students about HIV/AIDS in Tanz., and had the opportunity to help out a little on Ruben and Martha's (our hosts') farm.........and boy did I get some serious blisters on my hand from beating the shit out of this big pile of millet. Millet is harvested on these leafy branch thingys that then need to be beaten and separated in order to get the small pebble stuff that one feeds to chickens and such. Interesting experience nonetheless, but my hands still hurt. Another neat experience a couple of the girls in my group had was being able to help out with the cooking. Stephen's wife, Magdalena, is one of the head cooks at TCDC, so lucky for us she came along on the trip and, with the help of Mama Martha and a few others, did all of our cooking for us while we were doing various other activities during the day. At night time is when all of the various village members assembled at Ruben and Martha's house (front yard really) for an amazing meal (thanks to Mama Ndosi and her kitchen staff.........including a few of our girls) and open discussion about the similarities and differences between American and Tanzanian politics, religion, culture, education, health care, etc., etc., etc. Their questions about the US were so sincere and yet so indepth; I have to admit that some knew more about US foreign policy than I did, and were understandably quite upset about some of our country's recent desicions internally and abroad. It made me realize that it should be one of my highest priorities as an American to not only know more about and become more involved in American politics, but to actively and consistantly encourage others to do the same. I was very embarrassed and really had no answer as to why when they brought up the statistic that roughly only 40-50% of Americans voted in the last election, and that everyone, including the rest of the world, is now suffering the consequences. Tanzanians realize that not all Americans are bad, and in no way want our help (believe me, we should be taking lessons from them.....there new President, Kikwete, is doing AMAZING things), but are very concerned as to why so many Americans talk a big agenda yet become complacent and inactive (including me) because in the end it really doesn't affect them. Whether we realize it or not, our actions as Americans affect the rest of the world SO much more than anyone else and often times whether it's wanted or not. But, forgive me, I won't waste any more time and space talking about personal convictions that may be overly biased at this point............... I should actually probably be going. This has been a long post and to be honest I am quite tired. Nina choka sana. As far as my cell phone goes, I just realized that I have no idea what the number is (the country code is 255 though!), but can tell you simply that I have one and can be reached on it.......its very expensive for me to call any of you in the states, but with an international phone card or whatever, anyone can call me for fairly cheep.......I need to do some more research though and will hopefully figure out what will work the best should anyone want to talk to me. Plus, I should probably figure out what my number is first so......I'll get back to you. So long for now though; it's been fun and I thank you for your time. Know that I love and miss all of you, and am doing quite well here in my new home. Until next time...salama. p.s. i had the opportunity to play my drum for the first time yesterday. i found a sweet spot on the roof of my dorm that looks out over the entire campus and city (and one can see the freakin ocean from there too!) and was able to play for about an hour. freakin sweet....safi sana sana sana. man am I lucky... p.p.s. if you havn't already, check out some of my pictures by clicking on the "booziepics" link on the right hand side of this page. couldn't give you guys all of them, but hopefully a pretty sufficient taste! ok bye!